How to Shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday, According to Our Deals Editor
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Black FridayandCyber Mondayare without a doubt the best days of the year for sales. I should know — I write aboutsalesall year long. Many retailers offer a 20 percent discount here and there throughout the year, but Black Friday is when they really let loose and increase that discount to 30 or 40 percent in a bid for your attention at the shoppiest time of all. If you approach these sales smartly, you can get all of your holiday shopping done early and below budget — or just snag a few things for yourself.
But you do have to know when and how to shop. Sometimes it pays to shop early, before things sell out. Other times it pays to wait for a slightly better discount to come around. To help you navigate the sales, I’ve racked my deals-obsessed brain to come up with a list of tips, including which categories have the best deals, which you can safely skip, which deals tend to sell out fastest, and more.
Use our new product-save tool
Earlier this year, we made it possible tosaveproducts on our site and see them in your account. I’d use that tool to start making your shopping listnow. That way, when Black Friday rolls around, you can simply go to your account, see what’s on sale, and shop from there. Even better:Sign up for email notificationswhen something you’ve saved goes on sale. Black Friday sales now start long before the actual day, so the earlier you start saving products, the earlier you can start saving money.
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Mymost recently saved product, which I’m hoping will go on sale for Black Friday, is this spray-on moisturizer fromour beauty columnist Rio Viera-Newton’s latest skin-care update. Her mother picked up a bottle while in Japan and says its hydrating enough to use on its own — or add over moisturizer for extra oomph. (Which I think will be crucial during the dry season.)
If nothing else, make your Christmas gift list — and get it checked off
Shipping times are notoriously finicky this time of year, so it’sa good idea to order your gifts as early as possible. I suggest spending the weeks before Black Friday and Cyber Monday making a list of possible gifts for people on your list (andsaving them to your account!), so when the sales go live, you can quickly check to see what’s on sale. And again, I’d do this sooner than later, as the deals have already started, and they’re already worth shopping.
If you needgift ideas, we’ve got plenty, and we’ll be finding all the best on-sale gifts now through Cyber Monday, so stay tuned for more. (I’d also recommend signing up for ourSales Alertnewsletter, where we’ll be sharing all of our on-sale gift picks this holiday season.)
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One year, I went into Black Friday shopping with the goal of finding the best deal I could on some AirPod Pros because I wanted to gift them to my boyfriend for Christmas. And find them I did, for a respectable 24 percent off. It was one of only a few things I bought over the weekend.
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Salt Lab’s magnesium sprayis one of our favorite new-to-us products of 2025. It went on sale during Prime Dayand instantly sold out— but we’ve heard that the brand’s entire site will be on sale for Black Friday. Would make an excellent gift for all.
Shopping early is worth it
Black Friday sales are starting insanely earlier this year — several started rolling in on November 1, and they’re ramping up daily. For the most part, the deals that go livebeforeBlack Friday are the same as what you get during actual Cyber Week. There’s no way to be totally sure, but my rule of thumb: If the brand is smaller and calling the sale just a Black Friday or Cyber Week sale, it’s probably not going to change between now and Cyber Monday. If it’s a bigger retailer like Amazon and Nordstrom, and it’s calling the sale anearlyBlack Friday sale (or something other than simply Black Friday), the deals probablywillchange closer to Black Friday. That doesn’t mean the early deals are bad; it’s just likelynewdeals will be added to the mix.
All to say, in general, if there’s something you really want and it’s already on sale, I say get it while it’s in stock. If you don’t think the item will sell out, you can wait. There are a few cases where the deal is a bit better — like 25 percent off instead of 20 percent — come Black Friday itself.
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Nordstrom’s early Black Friday saleis actually rather good, but it wraps up on the 11th, when a new batch of Black Friday deals will likely go live. One of my top picks from the current sale is this incredibly discounted backpack from Rains.
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Material’s sitewide sale lasts through December 3, so there’s no reason to wait to shop it.
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Everything at Lalo is already on sale for Black Friday. Its toddler-friendly kids’ tent is of our toptoy gifts for 2025. It’s spacious, easy to set up (the tent can be purchased on its own or as an add-on to an also-on-saleplay gym), and won’t add to the visual clutter of a playroom.
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True Botanicals’ Renew Pure Radiance facialoilis a favorite of celebrities —Eva Mendes,Laura Dern, andOlivia Wilde, to name a few — as well as Strategist readers. The brand is giving us early access to its Black Friday sale, which officially launches on the 14th. Take 30 percent off sitewide with the code STRATEGIST30; 40 percent off orders over $400 with the code STRATEGIST40; and 50 percent off orders over $1,000 with the code STRATEGIST50.
Another reason to shop early: tariffs
Price increases have varied greatly this year due to tariffs, but plenty of items have gotten a little more expensive. Black Friday discounts will help take them down to pre-tariff pricing.
And with shipping times being wonky due to tariffs, it’s better to buy now rather than later. “My advice is to not put off your shopping,” says senior writerMichael Zhao, who has been covering tariffs for the Strategist. “Full price and available is better than sold out and not coming back.”
If you hold out for anything, make it big-ticket items
Expensive items will be at their best prices on Black Friday — and shoppers no longer have to camp outside a JCPenney or Walmart in order to buy a washing machine or TV on sale. The deals have simply moved online, where you can find the best discounts of the year on appliances and tech. Best Buy and Target are both good places to start, especially if you’re looking for Apple tech or even a high-end vacuum. Some of these brands still have online doorbusters that only last a short amount of time, but they typically advertise them in advance, so you can plan ahead.
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Zhao’sfavorite TV— the one every TV reviewer recommends — is expensive, but it’s been on sale both Prime Days this year. It should have a similar (if not slightly better) discount for Black Friday.
Especiallytech
When people ask writerJordan McMahonwhat they should wait to buy until Black Friday, his answer is always tech. Specifically, expensive tech likeheadphones,tablets, andgaming consoles. “You probably won’t find a better deal than the ones offered this week,” he says. Last year, we saw great deals at individual retailers like JBL, Sonos, and Dyson, as well as tons of discounts at such megaretailers as Best Buy, Amazon, and Target.
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“Amazon always has significant discounts on its own products, likeKindlesand Echo devices — I always wait until this time of year when I need to upgrade one of my e-readers,” McMahon says.
Tech is a category you should definitelycheck for price matching, though. Apple doesn’t discount its products, but it sometimes offers gift cards of varying amounts with the purchase of a product. Target, Best Buy, and Amazon, however, offer straight-up discounts on Apple products. The best place to buy depends on what you want — money now or later — but it’s worth comparing and considering before paying.
If you want a new streaming service, now’s the time to subscribe
Sadly, the price of streaming services just keeps going up. Last year, we saw several streaming services offer more than half off monthly subscription fees. If you’ve been unsure whether another streaming service is worth it, now is a good time to subscribe and try it out cheaply, often for a whole year. (These make a nice gift, too.)
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The fashion deals will be vast
As is usually the case during holiday sales,tonsof clothes are significantly discounted. Last year, Madewell offered up 50 percent off its entire site. (Normally, its sitewide discounts cap out at 40 percent.) Alex Mill’s Black Friday sale was a surprise hit with Strategist readers and staffers alike, with many of its normally pricey sweaters and tops half off or more. (We found a cashmere scarf marked down to $20 that sold so much so quickly, the price jumped up shortly thereafter.) The sheer volume can be a bit overwhelming, though, which is why our fashion writerAmbar Pardillawill be sniffing out only the actually good deals. As she’s done inpast years, she’ll be rounding up the best deals, organized by retailer, making it easy to compare discounts and find the very best ones.
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I’m looking forward to all the on-sale cashmere. This beanie was one of my top picks last year — it was just $26!
Cyber Week is toy time
According to senior writerLiza Corsillo, the big three — Amazon, Target, and Walmart — have the most sprawling deals on toys during Black Friday. Last year, she found dozens of options for over 50 percent off at each of the retailers. But don’t limit yourself to those three. Smaller, independent brands like Fat Brain Toys and Maisonette, for instance, had good (and sometimes even better) discounts, too, with up to 60 or 70 percent off certain toys.
Some beauty products will be at their lowest price ever, so stock up
A lot of beauty brands discount products by up to 20 percent throughout the year, but they almost always bump that discount up to 25 or 30 percent off for Black Friday. “I always use it as an opportunity to stock up on my favorite beauty products, buy gifts for loved ones, and try out new products I’ve been eyeing throughout the year,” says beauty writerTembe Denton-Hurston. It’s a particularly good time to shop at Sephora: Last year, it offered up to 50 percent off brands like Augustinus Bader, Glossier, and Verb, and there were flash deals that changed daily. Also good to grab: stocking stuffers likelip gloss, nail polish, andpimple patches.
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Our favoritemoisturizerfor dry skin from First Aid Beauty was 50 percent off last year.
Mattresses will probably be a little bit cheaper
If you keep up withour year-round coverage of mattress sales, you know that mattresses arealwayson sale. While a typical discount at any given time is about 15 to 20 percent off, Black Friday seems to be one of the only times mattress brands bump up the savings, usually by an extra 5 percent. (Those deals usually start well before Black Friday, so you don’t have to wait to get better sleep.)
Check other retailers, and know their return policies
Retailers like Amazon, Nordstrom, and Target will often price-match the deals going on on other sites. This can make shopping easier because they’ll generally have faster and cheaper shipping and/or a more flexible return window, which is especially great for gift returns. Last year, for instance, Nordstrom was price-matching Great Jones and Our Place.
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Deals rarely get better on Cyber Monday
Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales vary from brand to brand, but in my experience, most places don’t increase discounts on Cyber Monday. At most, they might throw in a freebie with your purchase or add more items to the sales bin, but usually the discount is the same. So my advice here is the same as what I offered above: If you really want something, buy it early. If you’re willing to gamble on stock, you can wait and see if a discount changes or a freebie is added to the mix.
Don’t skip out on small businesses
Yes, all the big brands will have sales, but so do smaller businesses — and they often don’t wait for Small Business Saturday to go live. Salter House never has sales, but I boughtthis nightdresswhile it was a rare 20 percent off on Black Friday a few years ago.
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Cyber Monday doesn’t end on Monday
If this year is anything like the past few, a fair amount of retailers will extend their sales and turn the entire first week of December into a full-on Cyber Week. The discounts won’t change from Cyber Monday, but brands might throw in a free gift with purchase to convince you to check out.
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The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
